"And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap.”
Joshua 3:13
“Commitment is when God takes us to another level, to bring us to a higher level of relationship. In this passage, He was teaching His people one of the lessons of faith. The waters weren’t going to part before they got to the place where they needed to cross. They were going to have to step into the water first. Their feet were going to have to get wet. But once they were standing in the water, the flow of the Jordan would stop.
God will often call us to step out in faith and to get our feet wet. We must take these risks of faith if we are to ever see the river parted.”
-Pastor Chuck Smith
Monday, July 20, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
What More Do I Need?
I always find it interesting when the Lord is teaching me something new.
I have never really considered myself a “materialistic” person at all. I actually seem to run from money. So moving to Romania and leaving most of my possessions in California, not having a car here, and being without, didn’t seem like a huge sacrifice to me. Don’t get me wrong, I do miss my car, as I love to drive around, and I miss my art supplies, but really there are few things that I miss from home.
Or at least that is how it was for the first year and a half. Then I started to miss little things, more than just art supplies and my car. Like my heels! I love shoes, and I pretty much miss all my shoes, and my clothes, all that cute stuff I would wear to work or to church or when I would get all dolled up to go out. I have clothes here obviously just not so much ‘cute stuff’….and recently food has been what I have missed the most. I am a foodie and the food selections here in Romania are pretty limited. It’s funny, how little things can come and go in my mind, things that I miss, that I never really realized I even cared about.
I feel like the Lord has been refining me lately in regards to material things. I can’t just hop in the car and drive to Ikea or Target or the mall…and I walk everywhere all day, so heels are not much of an option.
It’s like I’ve been seeing things in myself that I didn’t realize were there. I suppose that is part of the refining process. The Lord brings things to the surface, wants and desires that are not necessarily from Him. Not all of those things are bad, but some of them if left unchecked can consume my thoughts and sometimes even alter my outlook on life here.
Last night I was actually reading in Deuteronomy and a verse that I was reading is quoted by the Author of Hebrews. So I turned to Hebrews to read what was written with that verse and I smiled…the verse says,
Let your conduct be without covetousness;
be content with such things as you have.
For He Himself has said,
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5
And I thought how wonderful our Lord is, with these little struggles and thoughts I have been having, He just reminded me in a simple sentence to be content, and that He is enough. If the God who knows my heart and my desires, who created the universe and all that is in it and beyond it, has said He is with me, that He will never leave, that He will never forsake me, what else do I need to be ‘complete’ or what more do I need on this earth? 'Things' are nice, but temporary. He is eternal, and my relationship with Him is what is important.
Sometimes I get off track, and forget where I should be focused. But I am so thankful for His love, and that He can be so gentle to remind me of what I DO HAVE in Him.
Anyway, I guess that is it for now. I am thankful. I am loved. And I am blessed that I get to share His love in Romania every single day! What more do I need?
I have never really considered myself a “materialistic” person at all. I actually seem to run from money. So moving to Romania and leaving most of my possessions in California, not having a car here, and being without, didn’t seem like a huge sacrifice to me. Don’t get me wrong, I do miss my car, as I love to drive around, and I miss my art supplies, but really there are few things that I miss from home.
Or at least that is how it was for the first year and a half. Then I started to miss little things, more than just art supplies and my car. Like my heels! I love shoes, and I pretty much miss all my shoes, and my clothes, all that cute stuff I would wear to work or to church or when I would get all dolled up to go out. I have clothes here obviously just not so much ‘cute stuff’….and recently food has been what I have missed the most. I am a foodie and the food selections here in Romania are pretty limited. It’s funny, how little things can come and go in my mind, things that I miss, that I never really realized I even cared about.
I feel like the Lord has been refining me lately in regards to material things. I can’t just hop in the car and drive to Ikea or Target or the mall…and I walk everywhere all day, so heels are not much of an option.
It’s like I’ve been seeing things in myself that I didn’t realize were there. I suppose that is part of the refining process. The Lord brings things to the surface, wants and desires that are not necessarily from Him. Not all of those things are bad, but some of them if left unchecked can consume my thoughts and sometimes even alter my outlook on life here.
Last night I was actually reading in Deuteronomy and a verse that I was reading is quoted by the Author of Hebrews. So I turned to Hebrews to read what was written with that verse and I smiled…the verse says,
Let your conduct be without covetousness;
be content with such things as you have.
For He Himself has said,
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5
And I thought how wonderful our Lord is, with these little struggles and thoughts I have been having, He just reminded me in a simple sentence to be content, and that He is enough. If the God who knows my heart and my desires, who created the universe and all that is in it and beyond it, has said He is with me, that He will never leave, that He will never forsake me, what else do I need to be ‘complete’ or what more do I need on this earth? 'Things' are nice, but temporary. He is eternal, and my relationship with Him is what is important.
Sometimes I get off track, and forget where I should be focused. But I am so thankful for His love, and that He can be so gentle to remind me of what I DO HAVE in Him.
Anyway, I guess that is it for now. I am thankful. I am loved. And I am blessed that I get to share His love in Romania every single day! What more do I need?
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Birthday Girl
So today is my 30th birthday! I'm sooo excited to be 30.
Unfortunately, i am at home and not feeling well, but i will celebrate soon enough with my good friends here in Romania!
What a blessing it is to have a birthday in another country. I celebrated my 18th and 29th birthdays here in Romania and my 19th in India! so fun!
I love being a missionary in Romania and am totally blessed that Lord has brought me all the way over here. I know that this is going to be a great year and I'm looking forward to what God has in store for me!
xo
Unfortunately, i am at home and not feeling well, but i will celebrate soon enough with my good friends here in Romania!
What a blessing it is to have a birthday in another country. I celebrated my 18th and 29th birthdays here in Romania and my 19th in India! so fun!
I love being a missionary in Romania and am totally blessed that Lord has brought me all the way over here. I know that this is going to be a great year and I'm looking forward to what God has in store for me!
xo
Goodbye...
So today is the last day of my 29th year. I'm sort of excited to be turning 30 tomorrow. Even though I'm sick for the 2nd year in a row.
My 20's were good, but I look forward to leaving things in my past and having a fresh start.
Tomorrow is a new day, a new year for me, and I look forward to what the Lord has in store for me in the future.
"Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future. "
Proverbs 31:25
My 20's were good, but I look forward to leaving things in my past and having a fresh start.
Tomorrow is a new day, a new year for me, and I look forward to what the Lord has in store for me in the future.
"Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future. "
Proverbs 31:25
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Pretty Harsh...But Sadly...Too Often True...
My AW Tozer devo for today...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The business of the Church is God. She is purest when most
engaged with God and she is astray just so far as she follows
other interests, no matter how "religious" or humanitarian they
may be.
The Set of the Sail, 80.
July 8
The Church: Activities
Til I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
--1 Timothy 4:13
In an effort to get the work of the Lord done we often lose contact
with the Lord of the work and quite literally wear our people out
as well. I have heard more than one pastor boast that his church
was a "live" one, pointing to the printed calendar as a proof--
something on every night and several meetings during the day. Of
course this proves nothing except that the pastor and the church are
being guided by a bad spiritual philosophy. A great many of these
time-consuming activities are useless and others plain ridiculous.
"But," say the eager beavers who run the religious squirrel cages,
"they provide fellowship and they hold our people together."
To this I reply that what they provide is not fellowship at all, and
if that is the best thing the church has to offer to hold the people
together it is not a Christian church in the New Testament meaning
of that word. The center of attraction in a true church is the Lord
Jesus Christ....
If the many activities engaged in by the average church led to the
salvation of sinners or the perfecting of believers they would
justify themselves easily and triumphantly; but they do not. My
observations have led me to the belief that many, perhaps most, of
the activities engaged in by the average church do not contribute in
any way to the accomplishing of the true work of Christ on earth. I
hope I am wrong, but I am afraid I am right.
.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The business of the Church is God. She is purest when most
engaged with God and she is astray just so far as she follows
other interests, no matter how "religious" or humanitarian they
may be.
The Set of the Sail, 80.
July 8
The Church: Activities
Til I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
--1 Timothy 4:13
In an effort to get the work of the Lord done we often lose contact
with the Lord of the work and quite literally wear our people out
as well. I have heard more than one pastor boast that his church
was a "live" one, pointing to the printed calendar as a proof--
something on every night and several meetings during the day. Of
course this proves nothing except that the pastor and the church are
being guided by a bad spiritual philosophy. A great many of these
time-consuming activities are useless and others plain ridiculous.
"But," say the eager beavers who run the religious squirrel cages,
"they provide fellowship and they hold our people together."
To this I reply that what they provide is not fellowship at all, and
if that is the best thing the church has to offer to hold the people
together it is not a Christian church in the New Testament meaning
of that word. The center of attraction in a true church is the Lord
Jesus Christ....
If the many activities engaged in by the average church led to the
salvation of sinners or the perfecting of believers they would
justify themselves easily and triumphantly; but they do not. My
observations have led me to the belief that many, perhaps most, of
the activities engaged in by the average church do not contribute in
any way to the accomplishing of the true work of Christ on earth. I
hope I am wrong, but I am afraid I am right.
.
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